pic: Team 1501 (T.H.R.U.S.T.) 2009 Skyhawk

[Luke Pike]

I'm the programmer that Wayne was referring to. I thought I would explain how the shooter does it's stuff. The camera code is a slightly modified version of the Two Color Tracking Example. Once the camera has a lock, I do a bunch of trig to get the distance and therefore the velocity of the moon rock. I also get the angle the turret needs to point at and, using a 1000 pulse per revolution encoder, turn the turret to the correct angle.

Most of the time, the camera can lock on quickly to a target and all the operator has to do is fire. However, if the target is moving very erratically or the camera is blocked by something, the operator can take full control of the turret and firing speed.

If any of the shooting components should fail (it shouldn't, but with other robots ramming into us, it is a possibility), we still have another option. That "huge gaping mouth", as roboticWanderor put it so well, is capable of holding 7 or 8 moon rocks held back by the thresher. We can deliver these balls to human players or even other robots by reversing the thresher speed (controlled by the driver) and regurgitating the moon rocks (seriously, that's what it looks like).